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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — moving air
  6. perch — the fish
  7. clip — a video
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rest — what's left
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. saw — the tool
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com